England cricket legend Graham Thorpe told a doctor that he “didn’t see the point of being here” but was not considered an immediate risk, an inquest has heard. The 55-year-old was discovered dead on August 4 last year after enduring a prolonged and harrowing struggle with anxiety and depression. The Surrey stalwart had previously attempted suicide in 2022, following his dismissal from a coaching position with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
Surrey Coroner’s Court received information that Thorpe missed several appointments with a mental health team leading up to his death. In June 2024, he confided to care co-ordinator Katie Johnson that he “hadn’t been out for a while” and “didn’t see the point of being here”.
His condition deteriorated further, leading him to plead with his wife Amanda for assistance in ending his life. Consultant psychiatrist Dr Amirthalingam Baheerathan testified that Thorpe did not have immediate plans to act on his suicidal thoughts and had agreed to attend more follow-up appointments.
Questions were raised about whether Thorpe’s remarks warranted an urgent reassessment, but Dr Baheerathan maintained his judgment that Thorpe “wasn’t under imminent risk”. The court was informed that Dr Baheerathan’s last consultation with Thorpe occurred on March 20, 2024 – 19 weeks before his passing.
The cricketer had been under the care of community mental health recovery services since October 2022, following his release from a private hospital. Thorpe’s eight-week hospitalisation was due to a suicide attempt earlier that year.
His wife Amanda recounted to the court how Thorpe struggled significantly with the Covid lockdown, finding it “very difficult” and “stressful”. She detailed Thorpe’s frequent suicidal threats, and by June 2024, he had become disinterested in food, seeking isolation in a state of acute crisis and despair.
Assistant coroner Jonathan Stevens remarked: “Things continued to go downhill, he was really struggling, had anxiety and insomnia and it was all really dark.”
Amanda also shared that Thorpe “never really recovered from (his first suicide) attempt.”
In the time leading up to his tragic death, she recalled Thorpe confessing to her that he “doesn’t want to be here any more”.